BY John Marzulli
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Friday, March 19th 2010, 4:00 AM
A Bronx man is suing the city for $1.5 million because he missed his father’s funeral when he was arrested for soliciting sex – a charge that was later dropped.
Clifton Quarles Jr., fought the criminal charges for one year, refusing to accept a conditional discharge and demanding a trial.
Prosecutors dismissed the case after the cops who busted Quarles, 51, never showed up for court appearances – but that was too late to honor his father.
“It’s very upsetting,” he said in a statement released by his lawyer. “My father was my best friend and I missed his funeral. I will have to live with that for a lifetime.”
A security guard at a homeless shelter, Quarles was arrested Jan. 7, 2009, around 9:45 p.m. near his mother’s home in Bedford-Stuyvesant.
He had just spent the day making funeral arrangements for his father, who died of cancer.
He was walking on Putnam Ave. near Broadway carrying a suit for the funeral when he was approached by a woman wearing a black mini-skirt, he said.
The suit claims the woman offered him oral sex for $10 and he laughed and walked away.
The woman, who turned out to be an undercover cop, called for him to stop – and Quarles was handcuffed by plainclothes cops.
“Mr. Quarles vehemently denied any negotiation or agreement with the undercover regarding sexual favors,” his lawyer Christopher Galiardo said.
The cops refused to issue a desk appearance ticket or a summons – even after Quarles explained that his father’s funeral was the next day, Galiardo said.
He spent more than 24 hours in custody, released only in time for the burial.
After prosecutors got the case, Quarles refused to cut a deal because he wanted to clear the name he shared with his late father and mend ways with relatives angry over the arrest.
He made 10 court appearances before the case was dismissed in December. The suit names the city and arresting Officers Jason Ianno and Lenise Walker-Wilson. The undercover cop is not identified.
The city Law Department said it had not seen the suit.
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/